US Postal Service worker stabbed to death in NYC: police

HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) – A U.S. Postal Service worker was stabbed to death at a deli in Manhattan on Thursday, police said.

The incident happened at Joe’s Grocery at 168 Lenox Ave. in Harlem around 2:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.

An employee who was inside the deli at the time of the stabbing said the postal worker was attempting to buy a sandwich. When the postal worker went to the counter to pay for the sandwich, he and another person got into an argument over who was next in line.

The argument turned violent and the other person stabbed the postal worker multiple times, according to police. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators said a witness at the scene identified the suspect in the vicinity of where the stabbing happened.

Jaia Cruz, a 24-year-old Harlem resident, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, police said.

The NYPD identified the postal worker as 36-year-old Bronx resident Ray Hodges. He was a letter carrier and was on duty at the time of the incident, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service. His postal cart could be seen sitting outside the deli.

“The Postal Inspection Service takes matters involving the safety and wellbeing of postal service employees as a top priority. We are working diligently with the New York City Police Department on this investigation,” a spokesperson for the United States Postal Inspection Service said.